Yeah, I'm sure Sega have been struggling for a while. With Aliens they put a lot of eggs in what should have been a really lucrative license for them, and my understanding at that point was that they would become the big focus for them going forward. Neither of their released Alien games sold very well (and Colonial Marines even ended in them paying out compensation to players in a class action lawsuit) and the subsequent ones that were planned/rumoured got cancelled or dropped off the radar. All rumblings are that all isn't great for Sega, and hasn't been for a long time sadly. Gutted, because Alien: Isolation was great and showed how an Alien game could work.

Nintendo's biggest problem seems to be attach rate, platform holders make a lot of their money (and most of their money if they're selling their consoles at a loss, which many do at launch) from their cut of game sales and certification on their platforms, and even when Nintendo do manage to release a console that sells like crazy, that never seems to translate into game sales for them the way it does for the other platform holders and that has to have a big impact on how profitable their console business is.

This is the first Nintendo console in a long time that's really got my interest though, because the sheer convenience of being able to take home console quality games on the move like that is massively enticing. Mario aside I've never been that into their first party stuff though, so for me it'll depend on how good the third party support is and if it can compete with my xbox for my attention.

Nintendo's biggest problem seems to be attach rate, platform holders make a lot of their money (and most of their money if they're selling their consoles at a loss, which many do at launch) from their cut of game sales and certification on their platforms, and even when Nintendo do manage to release a console that sells like crazy, that never seems to translate into game sales for them the way it does for the other platform holders and that has to have a big impact on how profitable their console business is.

The difference being that Nintendo are the only console manufacturers who - anecdotally - actually make money on consoles rather than selling them at a loss.

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This is the first Nintendo console in a long time that's really got my interest though, because the sheer convenience of being able to take home console quality games on the move like that is massively enticing. Mario aside I've never been that into their first party stuff though, so for me it'll depend on how good the third party support is and if it can compete with my xbox for my attention.

I honestly wouldn't count on much third party support for the Switch, at least not in the traditional sense. If I were Nintendo I would be courting indie devs like crazy for this thing (the Switch seems to be the ideal home for games like NidHogg, Hyper Light Drifter, Mother Russia Bleeds, Owlboy, Drift Stage etc etc), and also the remaining few Japanese devs to secure the other games that are natural bedfellows to Nnitendo's output. It's just possible that with a great online store and a constant trickle of content, they can keep their core audience happy during the inevitable droughts between the handful of big first party titles coming out per year.

That's a really good point on the indie front, if they can get those developers on board then they could end up with a pretty great catalogue, and having those games portable would really appeal. I do have a Vita, which isn't too bad in terms of indie gems, but it's hardly overflowing with releases. Still on the fence a bit about this thing, but I'll definitely be paying attention at launch to see what kind of games surface on it.

£280 with no game included roughly £60 for extra controller2.5 to 6 hour battery life as handheld32GB storage (can use SD cards)Zelda at launch, Mario at XmasUpdated Mario Kart for Dr XSplatoon 2Paid for online service

Not a Nintendo guy anymore at all (apart from Mario I just don't get into their first party stuff) BUT two games I did play the hell out of on the wii were No More Heroes 1&2, and I'll generally buy anything with Grasshopper on the box. And Suda 51 says they're doing a follow up to those on it.

Not sure whether I want to jump on the Switch to play it or hope that whatever it is eventually comes to the other consoles, but it's definitely got me interested.

As an unashamed Nintendo fan-boy, I was a little bit disappointed when the details came through this morning.

Main concerns;- The price is a bit more than I would have liked (it always is in fairness).- The launch game range isn't as good as it could have been (it never is in fairness).

The smart move this morning would have been to pre-order Breath of the Wild on Wii U for 40 quid, then sit pretty for 12 months until the Switch price dropped and the games range increased.

I made that other move however- scouring the internet for a pre-order of the Switch and Breath of the Wild special edition.

Really surprised to find out that Amazon UK would not deliver the Switch to ROI (despite the fact I have had several other consoles shipped from them over the years).This might explain why they never sent that 'email update' I was promised when the Switch pre-orders were available.

For anyone looking around- there are no 'deals' out there, it's £280.I chose Game.co.uk in the end for a pre-order as I have always found them to be fairly reliable when shipping to ROI.